There's No Arguing with the Barrel of a Gun
by pooky1402
Summary: How the zoo is still standing after "The Incident" leaves everyone speechless but can one subtle revolution change the hearts and minds of these zoosters for the better?
1. Summer Afternoons

Summer Afternoons

The clouds were over cast. A gloomy atmosphere taking over. The down cast weather wafted in and out of New York like an ugly virus that refuses to do away with no matter how much medicine you take.

Rain would come rolling down some days, pouring others, and lightly sprinkling on others. The cold days kept coming and the rain kept coming. The days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and years turned to multiple years. Hey, why not ten years! Ten years. It had been ten years. Ten years since the incident. The incident that seemed to constantly embed itself into the hearts and soul's of the zoo animals. It shook the very core of each and everyone and when just a glimmer of hope seemed to pass by there way, it seemed to only be swept away like the chilling wind that constantly now hit the zoo.

The leaves should have long since come back green and flourishing, but even the outside atmosphere was affected by this terrible incident and as such, the weather around the zoo habitat's always appeared cold and desolate. The calender should have read about November by now, but no one really knew anymore... or cared. There soul's stripped dry of hope, and most of there moods, stripped clean of happiness. How the zoo even still stood with the occasional array of tourists was a surprise to most anyone who was still left who worked there. Tourists who were flourishing by with there flashing camera's or rolling video phone footage to try to capture some happy or exciting zoo life but what they got were mostly Grey faces and little movement.

This incident happened, really, around 5- 6 years ago but with the passing days, most of the zoo's inhabitants had felt it to have been much longer. five years longer, and with each passing day, the time seemed to pass by only slower and slower.

_I've decided to take a small break from Sunny Days and I'm going to try new experiments with this story. Hope your along to enjoy the ride and be my guinea pig! Will try to post a new chapter every other Friday or so. _

_Ok, so a new feature I'm doing with this story... every chapter I'm going to post either one, two, maybe three songs at the very top under the chapter title that I think if listened to while reading, will enhance... the emphasis of the chapter? I guess... well, basically, if it's a sad chapter, I will post a sad song. Of course, I'm not making you listen to it but I think it will better enhance what the story is like or what the characters are feeling. Of course, this is my first time doing this kind of thing so the choice of song may not be the best, but of course, there will be effort. I'm just explaining this so if you see song titles at the top, you'll understand why there there and not think I'm weird or something with no life... O-o sniffle anyways, always love to hear from my readers, so hope you enjoyed the first chapter! _

_The song I am picking for this chapter is... Speeding Cars by Imogen Heap.  
_


	2. Inner Weakness

Inner Weakness

"September"~ Daughtry

The incident you ask? It started out as a wonderful day but what started out as a good day came out to be a horrible day.

All those years ago? All of them? Yeah, it was a memorable day for all the zoosters. A memorable day that the zoo and the employees within it wish that it could just go away.

Skipper looked down at the raw fish he'd just been thrown. The fish laid limp in his fish bowl, along with two other fish. He looked away once again, his thoughts on the journey he was going to have to make. When the daily fish would stack up one more day, Skipper took the time to toss the fish outside the zoo gates and leave only a few to at least make it look like he was eating. Still, he shuffled uncomfortably away from the food. Memories of his young Cadet came flashing back. The looks on Private, Kowalski, and Rico's faces came into his mind. The excited looks on them when the food trolley came rolling by or the small pale of fish within one of the employees hands came walking by to feed them. But he couldn't see young Private's happy face. On none of there faces. No tonight, today, anytime anymore. That was part of the past, the part of the past that he no longer could obtain anymore. Most of that time, the days and night blended together anyways but that fact didn't matter to him. He couldn't see any of his comrades faces anymore. That's what bothered him. He sighed heavily as he looked up to the sky. Tears weld up in his eyes as memories came flooding back. He wiped his eyes quickly and found his inner composure, He took a deep breath as he sighed, "It's been too many years..." His eyes wondered back down to meet with Alice's gaze.

He could tell that she felt guilty for what she'd done and she could tell he felt regret and sorrow for what he'd done. It seemed like after that incident, the after affects slammed into him like a freight train. A freight traveling way too fast for a railroad track. But for some reason not too fast for reality, and it was that that slammed him in the face.

At first he was strong and stubborn, not giving an inch to indicate Alice had... per say... "won," but as time found it's way passing by, it kept fighting it's way through Skipper's resistance. It took quite some time, but eventually, he fell. Skipper. Eventually. Fell. He crumbled from the inside out. He broke though he still tried to hide it. Tried but without his comrades by his side, the time eventually wore on him and lowered his defenses to the size of wilted flowers.

Alice had no emotion most of the time, either anger or... no emotion at all. But to this penguin and what had happened before, she felt bad. Actually and truly guilty. There trance was broken by the * ping * of her walkie talkie and she was called off to the main office for something that could have been accomplished later, but she figured that she had better get started on it in case something else came up and, besides, she didn't like the uncomfortable stare contest she was experiencing with the penguin.

She turned to leave but turned back briefly to look at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, whether to herself or Skipper, but the look that she was getting form him suggested that no matter what she had to say, he had no intentions of listening. With that, she turned back around and kept walking.

His gaze followed her till she was out of sight. Then his face wandered in no particular direction,and it landed to the monkey's habitat. They'd been affected by this incident as well. The fatal incident. The fatal day. The fatal day that _involved_ the fatal incident.

Skipper looked away quickly but his gaze caught onto the badgers... Becky. Gone as well. A new badger had been placed in their habitat for replacement but had yet to a word, a word to _anyone_. It was a male, for obvious reasons, but the two hadn't bonded correctly, or at all for that matter, not once.

Memories slammed into the outside walls of Skipper's brain. Harder and harder like small pebbles accumulating to giant rocks. It attacked his brain, the sanity part. What little of _that_ remained. It left him vulnerable and unable to speak. He could feel another break down coming. It disrupted his thought process and he could feel the pain growing in his heart again. His eyes clamped shut and his beak remained clenched.. His fin reached up to try to cover over his heart, to cover over the cold emptiness that had been edged into his heart. The fact that he knew the whole thing was his fault and that- "Skipper?" A voice asked suddenly and threw him from his trance.

_Good night, this is sad... And yes that is my intention. I'm trying to pluck at those strings of your heart and I'm trying to bring emotion into this story. Emotion that I don't normally write on. Sadness. But I don't like to write too much on it.. so sorry if it seems too sad, I wish I could say more but I can't! er... I won"t! Yeah, I know... WHERE'D YOU GET THAT CORN? CAUSE THAT'S CORNY! XP... Excuse me... hope it was... what enjoyable? Would that really be the wording for a sad story? Enjoyable? Eh, enough of my useless rambling... heard this song at like 1 am this morning and I was like... "Yeah! That's the one!" No, I normally don't stay up that late.. I just randomly woke up after crying myself to sleep. No, JK, I didn't really... ok! Enough, I will leave you'll alone! Love to hear from you guys as always and this IS the same story as Death Camp.. .but I didn't like that title so I ... CHANGED IT! The good kind of change! Yeah, please no democrat complaints for that one! Over and OUT! ~Pooky1402 _


	3. Running It's Course

Chapter 3- Running it's course

"Already Gone"~ Kelly Clarkson

Skipper woke from his trance immediately. His eyes flashed over with a fussy hazel color briefly. Madness coursed through his veins before the voice smacked him in the face like... well... once again like a freight train. He sputtered gibberish for a moment before turning his direction of which he heard the voice. Marlene met his gaze and he sighed, heavily.

She noticed this but, she was almost used to this kind of behavior, now a days, from this commando penguin and just responded by hopping over the penguins habitat outer gate and walked over to him, deep concern in her eyes. "Well, at least your still breathing..." Marlene tried at a chuckle with this comment but it came out simply as dry cracked air. She sighed a little as she reached over and plucked a small handful of feathers from just behind Skipper's head. She studied them briefly before showing them to Skipper, like a science geek showing off his new found specimen to a lab teacher.

"Grey..." She replied solemnly. She proceeded to sit over near Skipper, her attention turning from the feathers back to the penguin that they belonged to. "Skipper..." Marlene started, concern already in her tone, "You can't keep living like this... your not going to... _last"_ She tried to stress that last point. Tried to emphasis it like it actually _… had_... meaning. Marlene had acquired a motherly tune and looked off into no particular direction.. She wiped a rain droplet that had blended in with a salty tear that had fallen onto her cheek. She didn't show it, almost like Skipper, but she was hurting to. Worse than Skipper.

She had not only lost Kowalski, Private, Rico, Mason, and them like Skipper had, but she had also lost Skipper. Her _friend, _Skipper. He was still... _Skipper, _but not... _Skipper._ He wasn't the same anymore. He didn't act, look, almost not even talk the same. At this, Marlene could feel herself swallowing tears back.

Skipper's feathers had had this... very... _aged_ look to them. Of course, it was from the _stress_ he was dealing with, but she was starting to get worried about his health. He wasn't eating almost at all anymore, but when he did,... it wasn't near the amount that he needed to eat.

"Marlene... I don't... _care_... anymore..." He stated back at her. He batted the few feather's still left in her paw and watched them fall to the ground softly.

"Skipper?" Marlene questioned, wandering if she had his attention at the moment. She dropped the health situation, knowing it wouldn't do anything to bring it up again.

"What?" He didn't even look at her. He knew starving himself was wrong and in fact, Marlene was about one of the only remaining reasons that he found life still meaningful any longer but he really didn't have any interest in hearing her nag on his health but he figured that's not what she was about to respond with.

"..." She was silent at first. She really didn't know how to say it. "A couple of the zoo animals, that are left of course..." She paused, waiting for a nod from Skipper to notify to her to continue which he delivered.

"Yes?" He went ahead and asked.

"There.. well.. wanting to ban up and leave the zoo.." She spoke again. She wiped some more rain water from her face and briefly shook her whole body free of the water. She sat back down and silently waited for a response from Skipper, already knowing he wasn't going to be happy.

_Gasp! Leaving the zoo? How could that be! I don't think Skipper's bipolar, JK, attitude is going to be happy! . Tehee! Out of school today and since I have quite a few chapters typed up, figured I would post a chappie! Oh yeah! Loved Brush with Danger! X3 ~Pooky1402 _


	4. Strength Isn't Everything

Chapter 4- Strength Isn't Everything

"This ain't Goodbye"~ Train

"There what?" Skipper almost choked on those words. Before Marlene could even open her mouth to respond, he interrupted right after with, "Wait what? They-... They... They can't!" Skipper stuttered on his words.

Marlene almost felt like grabbing him by the shoulders to give him a good shake to wake up and smell the reality roses but remained calm with her response. "Yes they can!" Marlene stressed. "And they want to..." Marlene finished,

"Wh- Wh- Why? Why though?" Skipper was flabbergasted by this. They want to leave? If any more of his friends left his life, then he _knew_ he couldn't last!

"Their done with this place" Marlene explained as softly as she could. She could see the pain and inner turmoil beginning to stir up in Skipper's heart and soul. She could see the inner... _hurt..._ and yet didn't know what to do to help.

"Wait...what about there safety, we have to protect them!" Skipper fought back. His tone looked authoritative though it came out somewhat weak and feeble.

"Listen to yourself." Marlene started, "There is no... _we_... there is just _you_... your team is no longer here... it's just you... and you in your state is as about as much security as... a box of tassels. I'm sorry Skipper but their just longing for more than... _this_." Marlene proceeded to make a swiping motion with her hand to indicate the entire zoo.

It was torn down and no longer as efficient as it once was. Most of the zoosters had lost there kindled spirits when their zoo partner was taken away and they wanted to ban up to leave and... well ...start over. The zoo hadn't _really_ tried to acquire replacements for them, other than Stacy, in forever, and the zoo had most likely just given up on that. _They were ready to move on._

Skipper remained speechless. He was afraid to face facts and he... _knew_ that.

"I know that _your_ still in denial, but not everyone else is..." Marlene got to her feet, padded Skipper on the shoulder before beginning to head back to her habitat.

"Marlene... "Skipper called softly.

Marlene stopped and tilted her head to the side to show her attentiveness as she waited for his request.

"Gather the …. remaining... zoo members for a meeting tonight at the zooviener shop, after hours at around 8:00, the usual."

_Darn it! I didn't want to use this song just yet, but I couldn't really think of a song for this chappie and this wasn't even much of a chappie to begin with... eh! I'm pretty excited about the next chappie! Yes, I WILL be using more Train in the future for those of you Train fans. ^-^~ Pooky1402 _


	5. Order In the Court!

Chapter 5- All Come to Order

"What About Now"~ Daughtry

"Order please, please can we have order!" Maurice clacked the wooden gavel down on the small black holster beneath it.

Skipper rolled his eyes. Like that _actually_ ever worked. "Everyone just SHUT UP!" Skipper hollered out over all the members in the zooviener shop.

Everyone proceeded to get very quiet after that. Even Maurice stole a suspicious and bewildered expression back at Skipper. He looked somewhat unsettled by Skipper's choice of words. Skipper was known to do that kind of thing _now- a days_, but Maurice was still not used to it. He shot Skipper a quick glare before taking in a deep breath to continue.

"We were all called here in response to Skipper's request, and we thank you all for coming..." A few nods proceeded his thanks. Some of the members either looked annoyed or questionable. Did Skipper know of the planned escape? Roy sneered towards Marlene.

Maurice was about to continue when Skipper stepped forth. Maurice sat back some to give more room for the spotlight to remain solely on Skipper.

"It's a deep concern that I have been informed from an unnamed source of a break out." Skipper chose his words carefully but could feel anger rising in his throat. He wanted to address the topic in a not so frank manner but his anger was taking over the best of him. Something that he'd started let happening to him long ago.

Roy suddenly turned his attention from Skipper to Marlene. "I knew we shouldn't have told you! Went and told lover boy didn't ya?" He spat at her.

Marlene felt a rush of embarrassment and anger shoot through her. Her cheeks flashed red for a moment before she took a deep breath to respond, "Yeah? I _did_, Skipper is a _friend_ of mine so I like to tell my _friends_ of things that are going on! I'm sorry if you've lost Skipper as one of those and don't care! Besides he would've found out eventually!" she snapped back. She wanted to control her anger but didn't. Every Skilene comment that ever passed her ears, her blood boiled. Ever since that incident, yes _that_ incident with _that_ fatal day, she had since then chose to consider Skipper as like a brother and that was that.

"Ok fine! Yes, it was Marlene, but that doesn't matter! What are you thinking? Leaving? Where are you going to go? Have you even thought that through? Have you even thought ANY of this through? I understand that your upset and very believably mad but gong nuts like a … nuclear bomb is just insane!" He slammed his balled fist down on the desk to emphasis his words. He waited for a hand to request to speak and it was Roy, what a surprise.

"You aren't in control any longer, I would almost say that King Julien would be a better leader than you are being, but, then I _would_ be crazy. We are animals not mindless zombies! And we're not a senseless soul who is lingering in the past!" Roy snapped.

Burt looked a little uneasy and tried to shift a little to behind some other members.

Skipper noticed this and looked up to him to ask him, "What? You... to? I-I-I don't... understand.. why …. _you_?" Skipper inquired. He gave the same look to Roger who seemed to be in the same boat as Roy to leave.

"Skipper don't worry, we have nothing against you, but were ready to move on as well, were ready to leave, " Burt replied with sympathy. "You can go with us..." Burt suggested which got mixed reviews from different zoosters.

"I uh... can't, if I leave and find out my men came looking for me and couldn't see anybody home, here, they'll think that the zoo just closed down and I'll for sure not be able to see them again or... they'll think... I left them. " Skipper replied grimly. A few others looked guilty by this.

Stacy lifted her hand and when acknowledged, spoke with, "Were not sure where were headed, but I do know, some, well more or less most, want to travel to a different zoo... to begin a new life... away from here" A few nods were greeted after this comment. Some were thinking of starting a new life, while others were hoping to find there habitat buddy.

"Well... which ….. _direction_ are you'll headed in when you leave the zoo?" Skipper asked.

Phil proceeded to raise his hand and Maurice translated as much as he could of what the monkey was saying. He'd had a lot of time on his hands when King Julien and Mort were gone so he used that time to try to learn a new language and he figured that he would learn sign language since Phil spoke it and Mason wasn't there to translate his signs into words any longer. Of course, he was still learning so not everything was always translated correctly.

"Uh... he says that there going in groups to different... places? Yeah, places and using... w-a-l-k oh! Walkie Talkies from the zooviener shop, there going to to find there destinations or die trying...- er I mean at least try" Maurice replied and sat back down in his chair, waiting for Skipper to continue.

Skipper listened to each word and now was in deep thought over this. At there plan, trying to decipher that if this _wasn't _the right plan... then what was?

"When is it?" Skipper asked, still in deep contemplation. Roy gritted his teeth as this. He didn't want Skipper to know that at all but knowing the others, he was going to find out no matter what.

"They want to leave within a week..." Marlene answered this time.

A week? Really? A WEEK! His agitation was starting to boil over the blackening crock pot. He didn't think that they had a very _grade A_ plan and it just annoyed him that they were going to just leave on a whelm, not a care in the world, or of the affects on the people around them.

"Alright... the night that you leave, we will meet here at 2100 on the dot, no exceptions and I want everyone coming along not only with there partner's name ready to state but there expedition equipment for inspection." Skipper ordered and with that, nodded to Maurice to slam the gavel for the session to end.

The members descended one by one, but Roy was the last. He growled under his breath and as quick as lightning, he had jammed Skipper against the wall with his horn, holding him in place against the wall. "I know that most of these _other_ losers might be blinded by your... _leadership_ _skills_ but I'm NOT. If you end up going and you end up in _my_ group, you're going to wish you'd never been born" He growled yet again.

Years ago, Skipper would have easily recovered from Roy's grip and broke free with extra strength to tackle him down but with the the way he was now, when Roy with drew his hold, Skipper simply dropped down onto the glass table beneath him and crumbled in to a heap of black and white feathers. Marlene and Maurice recovered from there brief paralysis shock and rushed over to help him to his feet.

Skipper didn't say a word but furrowed his brow to Roy as he left, Skipper's breathing was inconsistent, hard, and raspy. "..." Skipper tried to say something but he coughed some and just tried to regain his strength again.

"He thinks that he _is_ the schnitzel because he is one of the biggest and strongest animals in the zoo" Maurice rolled his eyes.

"Well Maurice, I think he'd like Skippy here out of the picture and if that happened he'd _have_ a good chance to be the schnitzel and... be the leader" Marlene responded almost shuddering at Roy being leader. Skipper may have been a pain in the butt sometimes, but Roy would just be unbearable.

"As... long... as... I'm still... truckin'" He took a moment to cough some more and breath some more, " He... can kiss... that... idea... a no- go!" Skipper hacked a little.

"Skipper, are you ok?" Maurice asked. Skipper was still being supported by the two, well mostly they were holding him up. Skipper nodded slowly.

"Well, I don't know about this meeting coming up, but it had better be pretty convincing, cause I think you may have only a few more leadership strings left to pull..." Marlene replied, half smiling, half frowning.

_Yeah! I finally remembered Gavel! Gavel! I kept trying to say wooden hammer which just sounded silly to me! X333 Tehee! Anyways, Can't believe I'm using two Daughtry songs! Used to didn't even like them. Total Skilene fail in this one, couldn't help myself with the Roy comment! X) Random I know, ~Pooky1402_


	6. HQ Past Times

Chapter 6- HQ Past Times

"All This Time"~ OneRepublic

Only a few more days remained. Only. Skipper's eyes fluttered open and he twisted his neck some till he heard his neck make a small subtle * crack * that he always waited for. It was something he hadn't used to need to do, but now it seemed of the only necessary and only _somewhat_ of a replacement from his coffee with fish.

He managed to prop himself up and got onto the ice floe, easy enough and he proceeded to vigorously shake the water that had accumulated on his feathers. The rain water that is. The dreaded rainfall that seemed to continuously remind it self of being there and constantly fall, whether slow or fast.

Skipper's eyes wondered upward and caught sight of the air born clouds above. It hopefully wouldn't rain that much today. The rain fell down ward, and a few of the rain droplets caught his attention momentarily and he attempted to follow them till they hit the pond surrounding the ice floe, and watched the small ripples that were created from the small * plip * and * plop * of the water droplets greeting the water. He watched closer and edged closer till he accidentally saw it.

He caught sight of his reflection in the water and it caught him off guard. His face had a slight dulled color to it. He hadn't meant to catch sight of himself in the cool waters reflection but he had, none the less.

A few spots on his lighter colored feathers appeared darker in color. Not as shiny and bright like….. well, like what used to be normal. Normal according to the standards that he seemed to constantly dwell on from all those years ago. The past that no longer existed.

He quickly averted his eyes from his gray looking feathers, and assumed he was just happening to see his feathers with that grayed and dulled color simply from gazing the color of the sky far too long and that the water just wasn't as accurate of a reflection test.

The move out stirred in his mind again.

A couple days. A couple days! He repeated too many times within his mind. A couple of DAYS! He hollered in his noggin'. Even though the more or less he tried to keep the zoo under maintenance with the help of Marlene and Maurice, he still managed to blame himself if something went wrong, he still managed to stack each of the zoo's problems or dilemmas on his shoulders, and still remained the fact that he felt he needed to remain the head over the whole zoo and the master over maintaining the zoo.

He felt the weight of the zoo on his shoulders, and _constantly_ felt that pressure.

His train of thought was broken when he toppled hear over heals over the fish bowl. He accidentally shoved the fish bowl across the floe.

He felt the rain coming down somewhat harder that he'd remembered, or hoped. He lifted his head slowly and leaned on his flippers for better support as he got onto his knees. Rain droplets fell off the end of his beak and fell off the beak tip, to splash down onto the ground beneath him. He got to his feet and proceeded back over to the fishbowl.

He stared down at the fish bowl.

Another fish smacked him in the side of the face. His alert senses kicked in momentarily and he clicked his head to the side to eye the enemy.

Alice. Alice was the culprit. She was currently listening to some type of music device and the head set temporarily distracted her awareness. His expression softened some and a bored look remained placid to his face. He let the bowl stay where it was. He started to walk past the fish bowl and somewhat eyed the once been hole that led to the HQ. Now it was filled in with cement but there was a small indent in the floor to indicate where it once was. His foot some how settled into the small indention.

It had a self made indent, made before the concrete had dried over, small and subtle n but at this, his eyes began filling with tears._ Tears_,... _again_. Why hadn't he just gone back and placed the fish bowl back over the indent. Why had he walked over it?

Fury, anger, and even confusion began bubbling it's way to the surface. His fury rising in anger. It was building at an unimaginable height. In the next instance, he found himself lifting his foot and before he knew it, he slammed it down in frustration. He found himself wishing he hadn't done that.

His head shot up, looking off into the distance, "Holy son of a...- Marlene!"

_Whoa! A bit of a struggle with the description for this one! X3 Anyways, I changed the title AGAIN! I know I know, for the five of you still reading, your probably thinking, girl what is wrong with you! I know, I don't plan on changing it after this, I just wasn't satisfied with the other titles! Still, hope you enjoy either way! ^0^~ Pooky1402  
_


	7. Walk the Talk

Chapter 7 Walking Off Your Problems Doesn't Always Work

"Secrets"~ OneRepublic

His mind fluttered with thoughts. He just stared at the hole he had somehow kicked in. A dark eerie silence loomed within and it smelled of soggy wet cardboard. _Old_ soggy wet cardboard. Subtly under that slightly unsettling stench was the fragrance of sewage. Cold air flowed from the large indention but the cement once acting as a cover had been swallowed up by the darkness below. His eyes searched as if trying to find something. Trying to find _anything_ yet nothing came to view. He sighed heavily. He turned his head away and shoved the fish bowl back over the hole yet again. Emotions, thoughts, realities, all seemed to be coming forth and hitting him.

He rubbed his head with his fin and rubbed down his face, pulling at his eye lids. He didn't want to think about it right now. Think about _that_ right now.

He looked at the fish bowl once more. He broke his gaze long enough for a thought to go for a walk implemented itself into him and his legs produced the force to move and _start_ the walk.

He made his way by a few inhabitants but the wind found it's way piercing through his dulled gray feathers along with the soft droplets of cold desolate rain.

He was forced to turn back and head toward Marlene's cave to see if she had any extra bits of scarves or top hats.

"Marlene?" Skipper questioned softly. No response. This worried him subtly. Earlier he'd called her name but he just presumed it was from the distance shared between the two habitats. He looked toward his habitat afraid he might see Alice peeking through the new hole under the fish bowl but lulling water surrounding the floe met his gaze. He shrugged off the nervous chill running down his spine at the thought of the fish bowl and his head slowly turned back around only to be greeted with an unsettled jerk from his initial comforted stance. He noticed suddenly that Marlene was only inches from him with a very gaudy snow cap in one hand and a neutral purple scarf in the other.

"Heeey, Skipper, I uh... noticed that you looked uh cold..."

" Which probably didn't take much a of science geek know- it- all to figure that out..."

"Well, I thought that I would go ahead and bring something out here for ya... I guess your goin on a walk?" She inquired somewhat shoving the hat into his flippers.

"Yeah..." Skipper noticed the quite abnormal behavior of his little otter amiga relatively quickly. His suspicion caused him to briefly look past her and over her shoulder, he noticed a piece of folded paper, slip out of her cave and land softly behind a bush outside her cave. There was something written on it and he could see there was a picture poorly drawn onto it as well.

"Hey! Since your going out on a walk, why don't I come with you?" Marlene was already turning Skipper away from her cave, his back to the paper.

"... aren't you going to be cold with just a hat- pfft! No!" Marlene pointed to the scarf she had adorned around her neck. Great, _he _was stuck with the 1960's over bejeweled and blotchy colored hat with... even better, coffee stains.

Wow, he hadn't even noticed the scarf around her neck at first... maybe his senses _were _starting to fade.

"I _would _be cold if it weren't for this scarf, brand new from the lost and found! Had my eye on it up until the 14th day then snatched it before it was shipped off to good will!" Marlene teased and helped start Skipper on there walk.

Skipper noticed quite easily how... _off_... Marlene was acting but blew it over his shoulder. I'm just being too paranoid... and that's the thought he'd settled on as the answer and kept walking, this time free of Marlene's assistance.

_Yeah... NO clue what to do for the song. just guessed one and went with it. Uh... Like how this chapter came about... I'm wondering if there are a few light bulbs clicking in some of you'lls heads as to why Marlene was acting strange. Honestly if I was reading this and not deciding what was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have gotten it until it was explained... ^-^''' tehee, anyways, ALOT is going on right now, so I know this isn't the kind of site for tissue issues but just to make it brief, if you believe in God, which I do, just please in your prayers if you could just prey for me and my close friends at my school, this week and next I can tell are going to give me a hard realty smack and I'm just trying preparing for it. Thanks! ^-^_


	8. Punishment of a Friend

Chapter 8 Punishment of a Friend

"Talk You Down"~ The Script 

They hadn't said much on there walk. Silence pretty much lingered between them. Silence always found itself lingering.

They passed by the lemur's habitat and found Maurice dozed off in the throne of what used to be King Julien's. This brought a smile to Marlene's face and she turned to see if Skipper had seen that. Her expression saddened some though when she spotted that he was turned the other way, and looking at the sky. The dulled gray sky and once more lost in thought but when it got too deep, the only thing she could do was just wait for him to awaken from his trance. Marlene sighed inwardly and turned back ahead. Her eyes widened when she spotted Burt not too far ahead of them, blocking the path and a most unhappy expression adorned on his face.

"Don't worry Marlene, this has nothing to do with you" He spoke while he centered his attention at Skipper and rose his trunk to one side. Marlene tried to tell Skipper of the impending doom but it was too late. He brought his trunk down and before Marlene could even open her mouth to warn her penguin amigo, she somehow found new strength in her legs, and lunged forward, shoving Skipper out of impact zone, only to realized milliseconds late that by performing that action, she planted her self in the impact zone instead.

Skipper was jerked from his trance and shook his head from the dizziness swirling about in his awareness like an angry thunderstorm. He sat up and rubbed is head with his fin. Before he could even ponder how he'd gotten there in the first place, he heard someone call for Marlene. It sounded distressed and worried, even scared, scared frozen.

"Burt?" Skipper got to his feet and turned around quickly, but dizziness spread all around within his head, clouding up any thoughts he was trying for and blurring his vision momentarily.

Finally, he could see again and he rushed over as quickly as he could. He spotted Burt over near Marlene . She was lying on the ground, but he couldn't tell whether she was awake or not. He looked up to Burt, seeing he was a couple of feet standing from her, his face looking sad, confused, and deeply apologetic.

Skipper's mind raced with only a few options of what could have happened.

"Burt! What happ- " Skipper stopped mid sentence. He remembered he was so lost in thought, but he heard Marlene call him, it woke him for an instance, and he remembered hearing a smack. A smack! And it had been behind him when he felt a shove to the side!

"Skipper, I wasn't trying to- you hit her?" Skipper interrupted without even a second thought, his expression was full of shock as he awaited an answer. But he _hit_, exscuse my french, down right _punched_ Marlene? _Marlene_?

"No! I wasn't intending on hi-You... _hit_ her?" He repeated the question, this time subtly more threatening. He once again waited for an answer, a _different_ answer.

"Skipper, I _really wasn't _tryi- you HIT her? Burt! I don't want to hear it" Skipper's anger was rising steadily with each passing word. Each little breath, each blink of an eye. The last part of that statement almost had reached a yell. His eyes flashed with anger. "Burt! Why did you hit Marlene!" Skipper demanded. "WHY!" He barked out.

Burt took a small intimidated step back. He was actually beginning to feel glad he hadn't hit his _actual _target. Quickly he took advantage of this quiet moment. "I wasn't trying to his her." Burt replied defensively but in reality it came out as a frightened whisper.

At that point, Skipper had had enough. What was he taking him for? some one born yesterday? Did he _really _think Skipper was going to believe that? "Burt! What the Deuce! Do you think that I'm _actually _going to buy that? You _inflicted damage _onto Marlene! I know that you did! Burt, she didn't deserve that did she?" Skipper took a defensive stance toward Burt.

"He wasn't trying to hit me." Marlene spoke up from behind. She sat up slowly, rubbing her head to her forehead, trying to clear the bubbly vision that she was experiencing. Skipper didn't even look back at her. He wasn't really sure if he was becoming defensive towards Marlene because he felt honest sympathy towards her pain, or the fact that it infuriated him that Burt was acting totally out of character with _that_ kind of behavior, but at that point, both emotions had slipped into two others; shock and almost a hair of understanding when his beak cracked open to respond,

"You were trying to hit me..."

_Geniusness Skipper! Simply geniusness! I think I kind of dragged out how Skipper just didn't get the point that Burt wasn't aiming at him but think about it, I'm sure there's been times when you have been SO angry that you have done things you wished you hadn't from that. He was acting out because of that and getting mad at Burt. Oh, and Again, no inspiration for the song, mostly chose this one for the beat not really the choice of words... eh! ~Pooky1402_


	9. Just the Start of Distrust

Chapter 9- Distrust

"Secrets"~ OneRepublic

A cold chill ran down Skipper's spine when he realized this. "W- why would you want to...it was Roy wasn't it?" Skipper furrowed his brow. He had calmed down some but he wasn't really sure why. He crossed his fins across his chest as he awaited an answer.

"..." Burt was silent at this.

"I knew it..." Skipper scowled more to himself and a paced a bit, making sure he stood between Burt and Marlene. Even though he now knew that _he _had been the target, he still didn't trust him. Skipper proceeded over to Marlene to help her to her feet.

"Ok, yeah, yeah, it may have been him that convinced me but it wasn't _just _him, _I _listened to him and _I _agreed with what he said!"Burt explained, suddenly showing what was that.. signs of... anger? Towards Skipper?

Skipper allowed Burt to get through his spill. He just let him flow over with his mumbled explanation of how he was justified with his reaction and reasons as to why he had wanted to _punish _Skipper, or something close to that. Burt got quiet, waiting for a reply, though Skipper honestly wondered what he could possibly expect him to respond with after that. Then, Skipper turned to him, a look of somewhat hurt, pain, but still held that dignity. That dignity that Skipper knew was still within him.

Burt finally finished huffing in annoyance at Skipper's silence and allowed Skipper to speak without interruptions.

"Yeah,... Ok Burt.." Was all Skipper responded with. He turned with a cold shoulder to Burt and walked away. Burt wanted to feel anger, proud that _he _had stumped Skipper and in a sense _won_ because even though he had hurt Marlene by accident, he had still managed to hurt Skipper... but some how he could barely even find the strength to stand, his mouth slightly open from speechlessness.

Skipper walked with his flipper helping Marlene to walk. At first, silence lingered between them but Skipper eventually broke that. "I just don't understand..." His gaze had fallen upon a a puddle a little ahead of them, a leaf had just settled on top, creating a small ripple affect. The ripple affect. How one thing turns to another, even when you try to stop it, it just keeps flying by.

"What?" Marlene limped slightly, "Burt?" She inquired.

"Yeah..." He spoke much more softly this time. Burt used to be really good friends with Skipper, with all of them. _Used to, _apparently.

"Power... or at least the illusion of it... even the best of us can go astray sometimes..." Marlene responded.

"No, not Burt, or at least I thought, I thought I _knew _him... I mean I thought he was different or something, him and Roger..." He replied, his gaze dropped for a moment.

They arrived at her cave and right when she was about to see him off quickly because she had some work to attend to, she stopped. She stopped when she saw him holding up a paper. The one he'd seen before they left.

Mixed emotions spread across his face as he contemplated what he was feeling right then between pain, hurt, and complete distrust, right then.

"Guess I was wrong about you to..."

_No I'm not a Skurt... or Burvate... (Skipperx Burt) whatever fan JUST in case you were wondering. And no, the paper he's holding up isn't bad! Get your minds out of the gutter! X3 Phew! Been a while since I posted. Uh... bad news... it's going to be quite a while since I post my next chappie... . I have found a new obsession in MLAATR so I've started one of those stories... scholarships are getting in the way... friend issues and etc garbage that your goin "Why the heck do I care?" Anyways... to those ... two... who commented... thanks! Seriously! ^-^ Until next time! ~Pooky1402  
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